A mind, once full and agile,
Was killed today.
It was not sudden,
The murderer took its time,
Trapping its victim in an ever smaller world
Until, the cries of anguish
Reverberated inside her own skull;
Unheard and unhearable by the world.
A mind once bright with intelligence
Which cared in its own way
For those it loved and had compassion for.
That enjoyed words and music.
Who loved and encouraged;
Was hurt, yet found solace
In a husband's love, quiet and gentle,
And children who did well.
But slowly, as age took hold,
Her body turned against her
Hardening first her heart
And then her brain.
Starving these organs of life
Through sclerotic arteries,
Ever smaller made
Until they were stoppered.
Her mind retreated basely
Shredding her memories,
Leaving them in strewn tatters,
Unjoined by sense of space or time.
Increasingly rendering her primitive
As higher functions decayed.
What fears did she feel
As her world closed in around?
She, who was once sentient,
Reduced to violence to tell the world
How she is feeling.
Language no longer speaks
Any sense of her wishes, desires,
Hopes or intelligence.
All is going or gone
Never to return.
Her mental darkness grows ever faster.
Haunted by demons
Of her past and future
Only she can see and hear.
She sits dribbling and trembling
Throwing bowls of super heated soup
At those who care
But she sees as killers.
My mother, flesh of my flesh,
Giver of my life, mind melts away,
As snow on a roof,
Leaving just a shell behind
Resembling who she once was - but is no more.
A shriveled demon of hatred
Who now blames us, her child poisoners,
For her own sad misfortune.
Our love is unconditional.
She is who she now is
But also remains who she once was.
A strange dichotomy with which
Us siblings must juggle
And resolve for our own minds' sake.
Deal with our sadness
While waiting for the end.
Was killed today.
It was not sudden,
The murderer took its time,
Trapping its victim in an ever smaller world
Until, the cries of anguish
Reverberated inside her own skull;
Unheard and unhearable by the world.
A mind once bright with intelligence
Which cared in its own way
For those it loved and had compassion for.
That enjoyed words and music.
Who loved and encouraged;
Was hurt, yet found solace
In a husband's love, quiet and gentle,
And children who did well.
But slowly, as age took hold,
Her body turned against her
Hardening first her heart
And then her brain.
Starving these organs of life
Through sclerotic arteries,
Ever smaller made
Until they were stoppered.
Her mind retreated basely
Shredding her memories,
Leaving them in strewn tatters,
Unjoined by sense of space or time.
Increasingly rendering her primitive
As higher functions decayed.
What fears did she feel
As her world closed in around?
She, who was once sentient,
Reduced to violence to tell the world
How she is feeling.
Language no longer speaks
Any sense of her wishes, desires,
Hopes or intelligence.
All is going or gone
Never to return.
Her mental darkness grows ever faster.
Haunted by demons
Of her past and future
Only she can see and hear.
She sits dribbling and trembling
Throwing bowls of super heated soup
At those who care
But she sees as killers.
My mother, flesh of my flesh,
Giver of my life, mind melts away,
As snow on a roof,
Leaving just a shell behind
Resembling who she once was - but is no more.
A shriveled demon of hatred
Who now blames us, her child poisoners,
For her own sad misfortune.
Our love is unconditional.
She is who she now is
But also remains who she once was.
A strange dichotomy with which
Us siblings must juggle
And resolve for our own minds' sake.
Deal with our sadness
While waiting for the end.
